When asked if he has any hobbies outside of baseball, Akron Aeros third baseman Giovanny Urshela said no. The focus is all on baseball for Urshela. The 21-year-old infielder is swinging the bat well, hitting .275 in his first 39 games at the Double-A level, though his on-base percentage is lagging behind. Urshela has a plan to improve that, though, as he looks to improve himself as a ballplayer every day.

You know it's going to be a good night when LeVon Washington is involved. The Lake County outfielder was up to his normal tricks, showing the all-around game that makes him one of the most dynamic prospects in the entire organization. The bats were also out in force in Akron, as the Aeros scored 11 runs and routed the Baysox. One bat in particular stood out as his power and overall talent took over the game. To find out who he is and all you need to know about the night in the minor leagues, join Jim Piascik and go Around The Farm.

The Akron Aeros ended their five-game losing streak with a bang. A colorful crowd of 8,000 students was on hand to take in the 10:35 start between the Aeros and the Baysox and the excitement started right away. Akron won 11-5 and moved to 21-26 while the Baysox fell back to .500 at 22-22 on the year.

Memorial Day weekend is upon us, which is a great time to enjoy some good weather, some baseball, and most importantly remember and honor all of the veterans out there. In today’s Happenings, Tony touches on the promotion of Chun Chen and his blistering performance to date and what it could mean for him as a major league option going forward. He also provides comments from Ross Atkins on players like Danny Salazar, LeVon Washington, Francisco Lindor and others, talks about Austin Adams’ amazing return, and provides insight and information on Carlos Carrasco, Roberto Perez, Tyler Naquin, Dorssys Paulino and more!

The rains held off in the minor leagues Wednesday night, not subjecting those games to the wet quagmire the major league team had to slog through. Akron hosted Rehab Wednesday with two major league pitchers on rehab assignments, Carolina had a hard time scoring runs, and Lake County furiously tried to come back from a 9-3 deficit with a five-run ninth. The highlight of Wednesday, though, was a top prospect maybe, just maybe, beginning to break through after a season of struggle. To find out who this is and read all about the night in the minors, join Jim Piascik and go Around The Farm.

The Bowie Baysox (22-21) struck early against right-hander Brett Myers and the Akron Aeros (20-26) Wednesday night, coming away with a 7-5 victory and a chance at a four-game sweep Thursday morning at Canal Park. Pitching for the second time during his major league rehab assignment, Myers (0-1, 3.68 ERA, 6.88 FIP) managed to rebound after a rough first inning.

Things just did not come together for the Akron Aeros over the past week as the team dropped five out of six games and fell to 20-24 on the season. This Akron team remains young and talented, though it lacks the consistency needed to rise to the top of the Eastern League standings. Despite the losing, there were plenty of exemplary performances, major league pitchers making cameo appearances, and an outfielder risking life and limb to make plays. To read all about the week in Akron and find out all you need to know, join Jim Piascik and go Launching off with the Aeros.

In this week’s first edition of Minor Happenings in the Indians’ farm system, Tony touches on the strides that Cody Anderson is making as a prospect, provides tons of comments from the front office on some of the pitching options at Triple-A Columbus like Danny Salazar, Preston Guilmet, Matt Langwell and Giovanni Soto, and also touches on a few hitters with the return of Tony Wolters to Carolina and the strides he is making as a hitter and catcher and also an in depth look at the promotion of Chun Chen and his future in the organization. In addition to that, he provides lots of insight and information on several other prospects in the organization.

AKRON- The Akron Aeros wasted a two-run ninth to drop a heartbreaker to the Bowie Bayson in 12 innings, 4-3. The Aeros seemed to be on the track to yet another bad loss at home after an awful 7th inning, and a four game losing streak was all but reality. That was, until the bottom of the ninth inning began. The Aeros got started quickly, however, for the second straight game.

The Lake County Captains (15-25) dominated Sunday’s game against the Fort Wayne TinCaps (24-17) and went home with a 7-5 victory. Fort Wayne jumped out to an early lead thanks to a wild pitch on a swinging strike to Mallex Smith by starter Michael Peoples.

Saturday's action in the minor leagues was headlined by the performances of a few former blue chippers in the Columbus lineup, along with an assist from a journeyman veteran. Meanwhile in Lake County, a starting pitcher turned in his most dominant start to date, while Akron and Columbus struggled to score enough runs to win. To read all about Saturday in the minor leagues, join Michael Hattery as he takes you Around The Farm.

A solid first half for the Akron Aeros was not enough to hold off the Erie SeaWolves, who prevailed 4-2 on Saturday night at Canal Park. Akron’s tough defense and strong hitting carried over from Friday night but was overshadowed by weak relief pitching late in the game. The SeaWolves, who are second in the Eastern League in hitting, started out slow but smacked 10 crucial hits beginning in the fourth inning. After a 2-0 deficit early on, the SeaWolves rallied to take a 3-2 lead in the eighth inning and added one more in the ninth for the win.

It was a full slate of action on Friday night as all of the Indians affiliates were back in action. Ezequiel Carrera chipped in with a good all-around showing in Columbus, Tyler Naquin was an on-base machine in Carolina, Charlie Valerio continued his good season to date and more. The IBI's Arthur Kinney takes us around the farm...

Brett Myers was the headline, but it was a combined effort from pitcher Will Roberts and several major hits from the Aeros lineup that led to an Aeros 4-1 victory over the Erie SeaWolves Friday night at Canal Park. The win snapped their three game losing streak to successfully begin a seven-game homestand.

Change is inevitable in the game of professional baseball, and for Double-A Akron outfielder Quincy Latimore, the changes started from the bottom – literally. Latimore, who was formerly a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates organization, was required to wear his pants down over his socks before he joined the Cleveland Indians’ farm system. Now, he’s done away with the high socks and joined a new team.

A sports hernia is an often-misdiagnosed tearing of the oblique abdominal muscles. At least that is what the good people at sportshernia.com tell me. Akron Aeros right-hander Trey Haley managed to pitch through the pain of a misdiagnosed sport hernia over parts of the previous three seasons -- in particular last season. When he was shut down for surgery in early June, he owned a 1.26 ERA in 14.1 innings. After finding a way to perform with great amounts of pain, Haley told Jim Piascik that he is happy to be in Akron and is just looking to be consistent in 2013.

In this week’s week-ending edition of Minor Happenings, Tony provides a bevy of updates on the walking wounded in the Indians system with players such as Alex Monsalve, Chen-Chang Lee, Shawn Armstrong, Joey Wendle and a half a dozen others. On top of that he provides several comments and insight from the Indians front office on players at Low-A Lake County like Anthony Santander, Eric Haase and others. He also touches on the recent good play of outfielder Tim Fedroff and his big league chances, and provides insight and analysis on the likes of Jeremy Hermida, Jesus Aguilar, Cody Anderson, Jeremy Lucas and others.

Available IBI Books

The 2014 Cleveland Indians Baseball Insider book featuring the Indians' Top 100 Prospects and more is now available. Also, previous editions from 2008-2012 are also available at a discounted rate. Just click on the book image for more information. Thanks again for all the support!